


no place i'd rather be

by Fives (janfives90)



Series: Heathers AU [2]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 15:17:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21017912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janfives90/pseuds/Fives
Summary: “Can I come in?”“No grownups allowed!”Emma lies down on the floor, leaning on her elbows as she squints through the sheets making up the entrance of the pillow fort. “Okay, well, can I be made an honorary not-grownup for a few minutes?”





	no place i'd rather be

“Can I come in?”

_“No grownups allowed!”_

Emma lies down on the floor, leaning on her elbows as she squints through the sheets making up the entrance of the pillow fort. “Okay, well, can I be made an honorary not-grownup for a few minutes?”

The boy and girl inside the fort glance at each other, then glare rebelliously at her. “No,” the boy says.

The girl nods in agreement. “You’re mean.”

Emma sighs. “Caden. Riley. Can I please talk to you?”

There’s another exchanged glance, then the girl pushes the sheet back.

“Thank you, Riley.” Emma pulls herself inside the small fort, ducking her head to avoid hitting her head on the table making up the roof. “Okay. Can you tell me what’s going on? Your mama said she tried to get you both ready to leave an hour ago, and you ran in here instead.”

Riley shakes her head stubbornly, and Emma wonders, not for the first time, why she thought it was a good idea to let her children have Alyssa’s DNA.

“If you don’t tell me what’s wrong,” Emma says gently, “how can I make it better?”

“You don’t _wanna_ make it better,” Caden mutters. “You _want_ Connor to leave.”

Emma blinks. “What?”

Riley smacks her brother on the arm. “You weren’t supposed to say!”

“Fuck,” Caden mumbles.

“Caden!” Emma says sharply.

The boy blushes and looks down at the floor. “Sorry, Mom.”

Emma runs a hand through her hair. “Where did you even hear that word?”

He shrugs and gives a nervous giggle.

She sighs heavily and says, “Don’t repeat that in front of Mama, okay? Or anybody. You know what? Just don’t say it again.”

“Why?”

Emma pushes her glasses up and rubs at her eyes. “You just… We’ll address that later. What’s this about Connor?”

Riley plays with the tie of her Tigger pajama pants. “If we don’t get ready, he’ll be late, and he can’t leave.”

“Oh.” Emma leans back, resting on her hands. “Do you think that’s what would make Connor happy?”

Riley and Caden exchange another glance. “No,” Riley admits.

“Why can’t we go to camp with him?” Caden asks.

“Honey, you’re not big enough for camp,” Emma says sympathetically. “Connor’s twelve. When you guys are twelve, you can go, but you’re not big enough yet.”

“We’re six!” Riley folds her arms across her chest and pouts. “Six is big enough!”

“For a lot of stuff, sure, but not for staying somewhere by yourselves.” Emma leans forward and ruffles their dark brown hair. “We’ll do plenty of fun stuff here while he’s gone, okay? And I promise when you’re older you’ll get to go to camp if you want to.” She laughs as both of her younger children grumpily duck away from her touch. “How about this? What if we look into some nearby day camp programs that are a bit more appropriate for your age range for next summer? It won’t be the same as what Connor’s going to, but you’ll be able to do something similar?”

Their eyes light up. “Yeah?” Caden says, excitement in his voice.

“Yeah. I’m sure we can talk your mama into it.” Emma taps her son on the nose. “But that’s only happening if you two _get ready to leave._ You can’t make Connor late. That’s not fair.”

They both scramble to their feet, Riley almost hitting her head on the table in her rush, and Emma grabs them around the waist before they can get past her. “Hey,” she says softly. “I love you.”

“Gross!” Riley giggles, squirming out of Emma’s grip.

“Ew!” her brother agrees with a laugh.

“Oh, get out of here then, you brats.” Emma says, letting them go and gently pushing them out of the pillow fort.

She waits a few minutes before she maneuvers her way out and starts cleaning it up, putting the couch back together and folding the sheets up to bring them back to the kids’ room.

As she moves the table back to its proper spot, Alyssa’s arms wrap around her waist, and her chin rests on her shoulder. “What’s this I hear about a summer camp?”

“So I bribed the twins, what’s it to you?”

Alyssa laughs softly and kisses the side of her neck. “I guess if it works.”

“They didn’t want Connor to leave. We should probably be happy that they actually like their big brother.”

“Very true.” Alyssa turns her around and presses a soft kiss to her lips. “I still can’t believe that he wanted to go to a theater camp.”

Emma laughs. “I know. You’d think he’d be sick of musicals by now. We talk about them enough.”

“In fairness, we have enough reason to.” Alyssa leans in, her lips so close to Emma’s ear that it makes her shiver. _“Tonight I’m yours, I’m your dead girl walkin’.”_

Emma shudders and sets her hands on Alyssa’s hips. “That’s not fair,” she mutters.

“I know.” Alyssa plays with the buttons on Emma’s black polo shirt. “I’m not sorry.”

“I’m not surprised.” Emma kisses Alyssa quickly, then steps past her. “Come on,” she says with a sigh. “We should probably make sure that they’re actually getting ready and not hiding somewhere else.”

“Good point.” Alyssa joins her, bumping their shoulders together.

“Where’s Connor?”

“Standing by the door, already packed, probably annoyed at all of us.”

Emma laughs and shakes her head. “Poor boy.”

Alyssa takes Emma’s hand and kisses her knuckles. “He should be used to it by now.”

Riley sprints past them, now wearing shorts and socks but still in her pajama shirt.

“Yeah, probably.” Emma raises an eyebrow at Alyssa. “Rock paper scissors for which one of us gets Riley and which of us gets Caden?”

Alyssa pats her shoulder. “If you get Riley, I’ll ask my mother to watch them both this weekend while Connor is at camp.”

Emma stares at her for a short moment before stepping out of the room and following her daughter. _“Riley! Come on!”_

She hears a sharp laugh from Alyssa, one that’s incredibly similar to the smaller, higher-pitched one she’s currently trying to hunt down, and she can’t stop the goofy grin that spreads across her face.


End file.
